Europa League Outright Betting Tips: Potential for Surprises
Thursday night football is back and, with last year’s winners Tottenham promoted to the Champions League proper, it represents another chance for a new team to sneak into Europe’s premier competition via the back door and land some gleaming silverware along the way.
Can early-season strugglers Aston Villa find a safe haven in Europa League competition? Will Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic outfit reach a European final for the first time since 2003? Can Nottingham Forest bring the glory years back to the East Midlands?
Let’s look at the best bets ahead of the 2025/26 Europa League campaign...
Tip 1 – VfB Stuttgart League Stage Winners @ 20/1
They may have lost Nick Woltemade to Newcastle for a healthy sum in the summer but last season’s DFB-Pokal winners still have some impressive players.
In Ermedin Demirovic, they have a proven goalscorer, who scored 15 in the Bundesliga last year.
With the departure of Woltemade, the stage is clear for Demirovic to put his name on the marketplace for some of Europe’s biggest bidders.
Midfielder Angelo Stiller is also courting plenty of interest from the continent and is a driving force from deep with a strategic understanding of the game.
They have a comparatively generous run of fixtures in the group stage, avoiding any of the trickier British opposition, with only 1970 European Cup winners Feyenoord and 2022 Conference League champions Roma having any pedigree in terms of top continental trophyware.
If they can replicate their domestic cup form in Europe, they will be in with a very good chance of finishing in the upper echelons of the group.
At 20/1, we think this price is too good to turn down.
Tip 2 – FC Porto to finish top two @ 5/1
The two-time Europa League champions are joint-third favourites to win their third title this year at 10/1.
While that looks tempting, a safer bet may be predicting them to reach the final.
They have started the season like a train in Portugal, winning each of their six league games, scoring 15 goals and conceding just once in the process.
That run includes a mightily impressive 2-1 win away at Sporting Lisbon.
In Diogo Costa, Samu Aghehowa and Luuk de Jong, they have some of the continent's leading talent and Francesco Farioli is an enterprising Italian manager who employs a possession-based approach to his teams.
There is also a lot of excitement about the prospects of tricky teenage winger Rodrigo Mora. Busy and wriggling, his low centre of gravity allows him to manoeuvre into spaces other players can’t manage.
He could be a standout talent this year and links with Paris Saint-Germain will only fuel the focus.
Don’t be shocked to see Porto make the latter stages, here. Backing them to make the final at 5/1 offers an alternative route to outright winner.
Tip 3 – Celtic to win the Europa League @ 25/1
It’s not been sunshine or roses in the build-up to this season for Brendan Rodgers and Celtic.
They failed to qualify for the Champions League in embarrassing style, losing on penalties to Kazakhstani side Kairat Almaty.
In the aftermath, there have been fan protests and calls for the board to go with dissatisfaction in the club’s business during this transfer window and previous ones.
However, underestimate Celtic at your peril.
Since the defeat to Kairat, they have conceded just one goal and scored six. Indeed, you have to go back to Sunday 6th April to see the last time Celtic lost in normal time to a team (a 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone).
This is a giant club with one of the best atmospheres in the world at Celtic Park. If they can arrest their generally subpar European away form, they could be formidable.
In an open competition where multiple clubs are struggling for domestic form, 25/1 feels like good value.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation
